148 Sheep-Farming 



to characterize the flock and should exhibit the 

 pronounced individuality and vigor that indicate 

 prepotency or the power to impress his qualities 

 upon his get. This much assures the maintenance 

 of what has been secured in the ewes. In addition, 

 the sire must have marked strength in the main 

 weak points of the ewes. While it may at times be 

 necessary to use ewes that are not pure bred, the 

 ram must be eligible to record. Some well-bred 

 but unrecorded rams may be better breeders than 

 some that are recorded. The advantage of eligi- 

 bility to record is not in the fact of the registration 

 of the sire and dam, but in the fact that registration 

 makes it possible to know from what kind of stock 

 the ram is bred. A ram with the character described 

 is not likely to come from substandard parents or 

 grandparents, but theory and experience both prove 

 the wisdom of knowing the pedigree or ancestry of 

 a breeding animal whether pure bred or grade. The 

 first thing to consider in a pedigree of a breeding 

 ram or ewe is the breeding records of the sire and 

 dam. They should be judged by the uniformity 

 and merit of their other offspring. The son of a* 

 young ewe may prove successful as a sire, but the 

 risk of failure is much less in selecting the offspring 

 of a ewe known to have produced other lambs that 

 are robust, well made, and true to type. The breed- 

 ing qualities of the ram's sire may be judged by a 

 single crop of lambs, though it is still safer if there 



